AP Art History, 2012-2013
Pelham Memorial High School Art Department
Instructor: Ms. Cherashore
June 5, 2012
Summer Assignment
Dear Future Advanced Placement Art History (APAH) Students,
Congratulations and welcome to AP Art History! This is a college level course in the
history of art that begins with Pre-History and takes us all the way to the 21st Century.
Your summer assignment is designed to orient you to looking at and thinking about art
and to give us a head start on our studies.
REQUIRED ART HISTORY READING
Look: The Fundamentals of Art History by Anne D’Alleva (book that you will sign out)
What Does the World’s Oldest Art Say About Us? by Judith Thurman (handout)
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/23/080623fa_fact_thurman
New Light on Stonehenge by Dan Jones (handout)
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/light-on-stonehenge.html
Siddhartha by Herman Hesse (You have to obtain this book on your own.)
SUGGESTED ART HISTORY READING LIST (for your reading pleasure)
 The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone (about Michelangelo)
 Lust for Life, Irving Stone (about Vincent Van Gogh)
 The Art Thief, Noah Charney (about a string of art thefts involving various artists)
 Devil in the White City, Erik Larson (Thriller based on a true story about the 1893
World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago with a focus on architecture)
 The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown (Thriller about the quest for the true Grail)
 The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown (Thriller about our countries cultural heritage)
 The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follet (Historical fiction about medieval Cathedrals)
 The Girl with the Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier (Historical fiction based on the
famous Vermeer Painting)
 The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova (Forget Twilight, this blows it out of the
water- warning***do not read before bedtime!!!)
REQUIRED MUSEUM VISIT
You are required to visit a museum on your own and write an analysis of a work of art.
The template for the art analysis is included in this packet. The following is a list of
suggested museums in the New York Area:
The Guggenheim, NYC
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC
The Museum of Modern Art, NYC
The Whitney Museum, NYC
The Jewish Museum, NYC
Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn
The Neuberger Museum of Art, SUNY Purchase, NY
** If you are traveling this summer and visit a museum in another state or county, by all
means, use a work of art from that museum.
REQUIRED WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT
The written assignment is an analysis of a work of art that you witness first hand in a
museum of your choice. The guidelines for this assignment are outlined separately and
included in this packet. The written assignment will be collected on the first day of class.
NO EXCEPTIONS.
The required text for this course is Art History, 4th Edition, by Stokstad. A copy of the
text will be provided for you on the first day of class. Please feel free to contact me over
the summer if you have any questions regarding the summer assignment or the course in
general. I will be checking my e-mail weekly.
Good luck, have a wonderful summer, and I look forward to seeing you in the fall.
Sincerely,
Ms. Cherashore
Pelham Memorial High School
Art Department
kcherashore@pelhamschools.org
K. Cherashore
A.P.A.H
Required Summer Written Assignment
How to write about art….
Take this sheet with you to the museum and when you find a work of art that MOVES
you, here are the things you are looking for….
1) Before you look to see who the artist is, or listen to the audio tour, or read the
plaque on the wall, jot down your first impressions. What grabbed your
attention? Was it color? Bold lines? A stirring or shocking subject? The overall
pleasant nature that creates a sense of calm? Does it remind you of an experience
that you have had before? Whatever it is, jot it down and don’t forget it because
the rest of the analysis is trying to find words for why you feel the way you do.
2) Great, now you have something to go on. Next, focus a bit more and look at all
the parts of the painting that grabbed your attention or gave you the certain feeling
that made you stop and want to linger over the work. Artists and art historians
call these parts the ELEMENTS and PRINCIPLES of ART.
a. Describe the colors, lines, shapes, and forms within the art piece. How do
they add to the feeling of the work?
b. These elements go together to form a COMPOSITION or how the
elements are arranged on the picture plane. The composition of the piece
may contain certain principles of design that add to the feeling of the
work. Look for repeated patterns, spatial relationships, symmetry or
asymmetry, the contrast between lights and darks, the movement of lines,
the surface texture. Record your impressions of these things. How do
they impact the work of art?
3) Next, ponder the subject. What is happening in the work of art? What or who is
being represented here? Is a story being told or is it a more abstract concept being
illustrated, or both? Take a gander at what you think this work of art is about. If
you are not sure, use your imagination.
4) Finally, art serves many purposes. Why do you think the artist created this work
of art? Again, if you are not sure, take a guess.
5) LASTLY, take a look at the information that goes along with the work. Artist,
title, date, and medium (what materials it was made with.) Write down all the
information. How does this knowledge change or add to your understanding of
the piece?
6) List 3 questions that you have after looking at this work of art.
Make sure you re-read chapters 1 &2 of LOOK by Anne D’Alleva, and now you are
ready to write about ART…. Take these notes and write a minimum of one, maximum of
two page analysis of the work you just saw. Start with your first impressions, then do
your analysis, and conclude with the questions you have about the work. Make sure you
include a copy of the work on a separate page and bring it to hand in on the first day of
class. (Use Google Images to get a copy of the work of art.)
Good luck and email me if you have any questions!
-Ms. Cherashore
kcherashore@pelhamschools.org